Battlefield 4 Banned in China After ‘China Rising’ DLC is Deemed a Threat to National Security, Against Chinese Culture

December 27, 2013Written by Sebastian Moss

Battlefield 4 has been banned in a country where it’s not even officially sold.

The Chinese government has reportedly banned the shooter after the release of the latest DLC, China Rising. The game, which spends a lot of time set in China, has a Chinese military leader attack American forces as part of an attempted coup in 2020.

According to the WSJ, local blogs indicate that the game had been banned on grounds of “national security”, as well as a perceived aggression against the Chinese culture.

But, before anyone starts to cry on EA’s behalf, it should be noted that the game was never officially on sale there, and that games consoles are mostly banned in the country. However, both video games, and consoles can be found on the black market. Wedbush Securities’ Michael Pachter called the ban a “non-event” and said that games companies routinely spend 6-12 months removing images such as bones from dungeons as they’re culturally distasteful.

However, publishers may begin to keep a closer eye on China, as there are increasing reports that the console ban will be lifted one day.